Spain - a plan from scratch

If you can, I would strongly recommend you not visit anywhere south of Madrid in August, especially on extended holiday. The summer time, however, is the perfect time to visit Northern Spain, which is often referred to as "Green Spain".

It's quite the contrast compared to the south of the country, and looks more like Ireland mixed in with the Alps. From medieval villages, to the picturesque wine regions, the emerald waters of Bay of Biscay, the gastronomy of the Basque country, the Celtic culture of Galicia, and the towering jagged peaks of the Picos de Europa; Northern Spain has something for everyone and is less touristy than the rest of the country.

I would look into picking up a guide book for Northern Spain and start to plan a basic skeleton itinerary of must see places and then check back in with us, so we can help out with the details.

Your best bet is to (Fly into Barcelona) then follow this path from the number of days you will be in Spain:

Option 1: Barcelona > Valencia > Madrid > Toledo > Cordoba > Granada > Malaga > Cadiz > Seville (Fly home from Seville).

Be mindful that Southern Spain will be extremely hot in August. You will find beaches in Barcelona , Malaga, (Marbella which is right next to Malaga) and Cadiz. It is not necessary to visit Gibraltar.

Option 2: (Fly into Madrid) Madrid > Toledo > Barcelona > Valencia > Cordoba > Granada > Malaga > Cadiz > Seville (Fly home from Seville)

Listen to Carlos. Much of Spain is seriously hot in the summer. Barcelona tends to be bearable, but on the more humid days it's not the most comfortable place, either. The Pyrenees are a rather challenging area without a rental car, but perhaps you can manage it. Beware the Cerdanya Valley, which has some interesting towns and villages but definitely not mountain weather. It bakes in the summer and is not a place I'd recommend spending much time during your travel period.

The entire stretch of the north from the Basque Country to Galicia is beautiful and coolish. You can't be sure of beach weather on any specific day, but there will definitely be some beach days if you don't require hot weather. If cool and beach do not fit together for your family, make a point of getting in a lot of beach time on the coast of Catalunya.

The Picos de Europa is a small, mountainous area in the north. I think there are some outdoor-recreation opportunities there--maybe kayaking on the river, etc. There are some lakes, and there's a mountain lift that runs during the summer. The old stone town of Potes is lovely and lively. There may be outfitters there. Although it is limited, there is some bus service to Potes from Santander (a comparatively dull and mostly post-1940 city because of a major fire, but with magnificent beaches) and perhaps from Oviedo (quiet but architecturally more interesting; inland so no beaches). The comparative isolation of Picos de Europa makes it really challenging as a day-trip, but that wouldn't really be an issue if you wanted to spend a few days there and only needed one bus in and one bus out.

Before planning time in southern Spain (Cordoba, Seville, Granada, Malaga, Cadiz, etc.), take a look at actual day-by-day temperatures in those cities during August 2018, August 2017, etc. You can find that data on timeanddate.com. I've linked to Seville's weather last August. Adjust the dates to look at some additional years to get a better feeling for the range of weather you might experience.

We're talking a lot of days over 100F, plus many others that hit 99F. In my experience a few days of that is bearable (though not much fun), but an extended period in weather like that is exhausting. Europe isn't as air conditioned as the US. You will encounter museums, shops, cafes, bars and restaurants that are not air conditioned (or perhaps inadequately air conditioned). It's not like being at home where you just move from your air-conditioned house to your air-conditioned car to an air-conditioned store or workplace.

Summer is just not a good time for southern Spain. Or the area around Madrid, for that matter, though it's not generally as hot as Andalucía.

Great advice on Spain already. Yes it is hot in Spain in the Summer. However, I am from the American South and used to the heat. I used to spend time on my Grandfather's ranch in south Texas in the Summer, when temps averaged 95-100. I worked putting up hay, feeding animals, herding cattle and more. That is why Texas tend to wear big hats, create the shade.

Northern Spain is great, but you plan a long trip, so I suggest that you not miss Seville in the south. It is wonderful, spend three nights there. Cordoba and Granada are worth a day for sure, but they are in the south as well. If you can handle the heat, don't miss the Alhambra in Granada. If you have time you could take in Lisbon and Porto, Portugal, but stick with Spain first.

Barcelona is nice and there are beaches nearby, although I never found t he beaches in Europe that great compared to the Caribbean or Florida. Still, you have kids to please. Madrid is nice and don't miss going to Toledo and Segovia on day trips.

Honestly, for kids that age, I would see if I could take them out of school early and go in June or late May when it's not quite as hot. I wasn't all that impressed with Gibralter, but the monkeys were really cute. I think the girls would love the Palace in Madrid and probably the aqueduct in Segovia(easy train ride from Madrid).

I also agree that southern Spain (Cordoba, Granada, Seville, Malaga) are not a great idea in August. They are the hottest areas in all of Europe. Yes people live there but they are not trying to sight see. Will you be happy to spend four or five hours every afternoon in your air conditioned hotel for siesta? That's what locals do (well not in a hotel obviously, but inside).

Northern Spain is a good idea. I did a several week trip in July a couple summer's ago and the weather was certainly not unbearably hot (if anything it was too cool). Gorgeous coastline and very interesting cities plus beautiful mountain areas. I did about half that trip by public transportation (buses, not trains, buses are not at all like in the US, they are comfortable, frequent, an inexpensive). But for some parts - especially some of the best coastal areas and the mountains it will be harder without a car. But I think still doable. Here is the trip report I did on that trip. https://andiamo.zenfolio.com/blog/2017/9/crisscrossing-the-camino---five-weeks-in-northern-spain-and-basque-france-part-1

I also did a July trip to Madrid, Segovia, Toledo, Salamanca, Avilla a few years back and while it was hot, it was no where near as bad as Andalucia. But no beach. You might combine that with Barcelona which is on the coast to get in the beach time. You could do all of this easily by train and bus.

thanks for all of the input everyone..... we do realize the hot weather in August, as we have been to Greece in August and we live in California..... The heat we can handle and I will certainly take account of all of the wonderful experienced suggestions..... currently I'm just in very early stages of planing.... I will continue to read all of the posts and go from there.... again thank you all for the input....

Keep in mind that a lot of the top tourist sites in Greece are on or near the coast where you may have the benefit of some breeze. Seville, Cordoba and Granada are not coastal cities.

Just to add some input, I am currently living in Southern California and have spent time in Andalucia and southern Greece in the summers, and I would not brush off the heat issue so readily. You could be very lucky and have only 90F weather during your visit or, more likely during August, it will be 100F+ almost your entire stay. Keep in mind, southern Spain IS the hottest place in Europe due to hot air masses from the Sahara, just this summer we had several heatwaves that topped 46 C+ (115 F+). Please do your research on this, air conditioning is not so widespread in Spain as in the US, and during an Andalucian heatwave the last thing you want to do is site-see...

.....and don't assume air conditioning is a given. If it doesn't clearly say there is air con, assume there is none....and double check that is true air con and not an oscillating fan. Some cities are so hot they have shade flags over the pedestrian streets. The bonus is that they still have functioning public water fountains. Take refillable bottles with you.
I use wunderground website for historical temps and precipitation. As I was in Spain late October 2017, I was aware what a hot year that was. I just checked Granada August 2017 with highs of 109 and most days over 100F. Last August was slightly cooler with one day at 106.
Consider northern Spain for cooler temps and fewer tourists.